Documents of the Right Word

A collection of small books written by Sunni scholars for answering Shi'a claims.

and Qa’qa’ commanded

and Qa’qa’ commanded the left wing. Abû Sufyân bin Harb encouraged the soldiers with his heroic accomplishments. The battle cost much blood. One hundred thousand Byzantines, including the Emporer’s brother, were put to the sword. An arrow pierced through Abû Sufyân’s blessed eye and made him blind. The Byzantines launched another offensive with an eighty thousand strong army in Jordan. Khâlid took his place in the center, while Amr Ibni Âs and Abû Ubayda shared the two wings ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anhum ajma’în’. The Byzantines were routed. Very few ofthem survived. During the caliphate of hadrat ’Umar ul-Fârûq, Muslims besieged Damascus. One gate was held by Khâlid bin Walîd, another by Amr Ibni Âs, and a third one by Yezîd bin Ebî Sufyân. Yezîd appointed his brother commander ofthe forward column. So he conquered the cities of Saydâ (Sidon) and Beirut, while Amr Ibni Âs conquered Palestine. Hadrat Amr Ibni Âs was the commander ofthe army in Palestine. Hadrat Emîr ul-mu’minîn frequently sent help to Amr Ibni Âs. Amr Ibni Âs was a wellknown genius and a clever administrator. He sent a troop to Jerusalem, and one to Ramla. On the other hand, Mu’âwiya besieged the city of Qaysâriya. There were many soldiers in the city. They went out to attack the siege forces. Yet hadrat Mu’âwiya broke all their offensives. In the meantime, Amr Ibni Âs fought the Byzantine commander-in-chief and gave him an utter rout. He conquered the cities of Ghazza and Nablûs. Hadrat ’Umar left for Jerusalem, bidding hadrat Alî to take his place in his absence. He was met by Khâlid, Amr Ibni Âs and Sherhâbil, all of whom hugged him cordially. The Byzantines surrendered Jerusalem to hadrat ’Umar. The booties taken in Iran were transported to Medîna by Ziyâd bin Ebîh. He gave the Khalîfa a very clear and eloquent report about the combats in Iran. Yezîd was appointed governor of Damascus. Mu’âwiya conquered the city of Qaysâriya. Yezîd, the governor of Damascus, died of plague. His brother Mu’âwiya was appointed to take his place as the governor of Damascus. Also, Abû Ubayda, the commander of Syria, and Mu’âz bin Jabal, who took his place, died of plague. When hadrat Amr Ibni Âs became commander-in-chief, he made all the people to go to the mountains, thus putting an end to the epidemic. Hadrat Amr Ibni Âs was appointed commander for the military expedition to Egypt. The Byzantine army was routed after a war of one month. The Muslims entered Egypt. Hadrat Amr Ibni Âs used mangonels in this war. Heraclius had prepared – 276 –

a great army in Istanbul and was marching against Amr Ibni Âs, when he died on the way. Amr Ibni Âs conquered Alexandria after a war which lasted for three months. Then he moved towards Trablus (Tripoli), which he conquered after one month’s war. When hadrat ’Umar was martyred, his son Ubeydullah killed Hurmuzân, a former Persian Shâh, thinking that he was the murderer (of his father). Hadrat Alî said that a retaliation should be inflicted on Ubeydullah. The governor of Egypt Amr Ibni Âs, who was on leave at that time, disagreed with him, saying, “How could it be justifiable to kill a son only a short time after the murdering of his father?” ’Uthmân ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’, who was the Khalîfa, approved this statement and extenuated the punishment from retaliation to indemnification, paying the indemnity from his personal property. This was a disagreement of ijtihâd. Hadrat Mu’âwiya launched a series of Holy Wars in Asia Minor and marched up to the city of Amûriyya. The Khalîfa dismissed Amr Ibni Âs from the governorship of Egypt. The Khalîfa’s plan was to conquer Istanbul by way of Andalusia (Spain). He landed troops in Andalusia. Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anh’, who was the commander ofthe army in Damascus, sent ships transporting troops to Cyprus. These troops, reinforced by the forces sent as an aid from Egypt, conquered the island after incessant battles. Constantine III, the kaiser of Istanbul, became the Byzantine Emperor in 47 [A.D. 668] and died in 66 [A.D. 685]. Organizing a great fleet, he hoisted the sails into the Mediterranean. On the other hand, hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ anh’ and Abdullah the governor of Egypt formed a fleet each and set sails. An illustrious sea war ended in the Muslims’ victory. In the thirtythird year ofthe Hegira, hadrat Mu’âwiya, who was the governor of Damascus at that time, fought his way through Byzantine territories till he came to the Bosphorus. This Mu’âwiya bin Ebî Suyân ‘radiy-Allâhu anhumâ’ was an honourable Sahâbî who had served as a secretary to the Messenger of Allah. Hadrat Alî ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ risked his life and fought like a lion against enemies for the establishment and implantation of Islam. Many an unbeliever succumbed to his sword. Hadrat Mu’âwiya ‘radiy-Allâhu anh’ was another hero who did not hesitate to put his life in jeopardy for the promulgation of Islam and fought the Byzantine armies so that Islam spread its luminous lights in the west as well as in the east. Many a country yielded to his conquests. – 277 –